Playoff Pregame 2: Riveters Must Win It to Stay In It
Will Boston be the end of the line for the feisty, grinding Riveters?
Here's hoping that the New York Riveters had some good rest, because they have until tonight to figure out how to get shots off their sticks and past Boston's Brittany Ott. If they don't, a season of thrilling ups and heartbreaking downs will fizzle to an all-too-predictable end.
The Pride are built to win: games, championships, gold medals, land wars in Asia (although I'd still pick the Riveters for dodgeball -- and yes, that was a Princess Bride joke). The first Isobel Cup is theirs to lose, so wouldn't it be fun to take it from them? As Jenny Scrivens ably demonstrated last night, whether she or Nana Fujimoto get the start, New York has nothing to worry about between the pipes. Unfortunately, it's hard to imagine the Rivs' D completely shutting down Dempsey, Knight, and Decker, or, alternately, getting enough pucks on Boston's net to at least even the ice for a showdown.
But this is hockey, folks. The Riveters' blue collar grind-it-out ethos may be just the thing to face down odds like these. Be prepared for some scraps, because New York won't go down without a fight (and if last night's third period chippiness was any indication, I mean that literally). Whatever happens, history is always worth watching, and it's happening here.